Take a mom of 3, stir in 4 vegan cookbooks, add a rounded cup of staying at home, and mix with a hefty pinch of recipe testing!

Monday, May 29, 2006

Soup in the Summer

It will soon (technically) be summer. Yet, it has been so flipping chilly and rainy here that we have been eating hot soup!

This is another recipe for Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan, a Spicy Yam and Peanut Soup with Chickpeas (well, spicy sweet potato and peanut soup for you in the US)!

It has generous amounts of fresh ginger and garlic and just a small amount of natural peanut butter (since I don't like the pb taste to overwhelm the soup).

The yams/sweet potatoes and seasonings are first pureed into a semi-smooth soup and then whole chickpeas are added in.

I've mentioned before that I love soups. I have several favorites from Vive and TEV, and this is most certainly a new favorite. Hey, I might even eat it when - uhh, IF - it gets hot and summerlike here!

20 comments:

Oh, that looks and sounds very wonderful, but not for me today. It's a sweltering 33C (91F for you in the US). May not seem like much to some, but when you go from rain and 65 last week to 91 in a matter of days, whew! The outlook for the rest of the week isn't much better. *sigh* Here we go again. Hmmm, I have a cousin in Whitehorse. Maybe it's time to pay him a visit! Dreena, I would much rather your cool and rainy. Got any salads in that new cookbook that you could post? :o)

Hi Dreena:It's unseasonably hot and humid here, but I actually made soup last night for dinner. We were out of greens and broccoli, so I was searching around for recipes that I could make without heading for the store. I came across your Chipotle Corn Black Bean Soup and happened to have pretty much all of the ingredients on hand. It's delicious! I used Cholula hot sauce, because I didn't have any chipotle sauce, but it was quite tasty. My daughter ate three bowls and my heartburn prone husband enjoyed it too (and didn't even get heartburn). I'll have to make again- I froze some for some leftovers later on.

By the way- your weather sound heavenly to me (I hate hot weather). We are coming out to the Pacific Northwest for vacation in a week and I can't wait for cool weather- I hope a heatwave doesn't show up before then!

I'm in Southern Ontario too, so it was really hot today. Soup wouldn't even be an option for us today. That soup looks super yummy for a cool, wet rainy day though. I love the idea of mixing squash and peanut butter, sounds good. I love blender soups, but adding the chickpeas at the end is a nice touch - yay protein to boot!

We've had some chilly nights this past week + weekend and warm food has hit the spot - I've been been able to use the oven without my boyfriend frowning about the heat ; )The soup you've described, the african peanut, is one I've been meaning to make for nearly a year now - one of those ideas on the back burner. Looks fabulous~

I havent eaten soup in a long time! Im the kind of person that only likes soup every once in awhile. And I usually like it when it rains(why? I dont know) but it hasnt rained here in awhile, so hence the lack of soup. Also, it's totally opposite the weather of what I like it to be when Im eating a hot bowl of soup, it's burning up here in Georgia!

Hi Carrie... yeah, I have a friend in Ontario that said it was quite cool all last week, and then I saw 30+ on the national forecast. That's dramatic over a day or so! Funny, she used to live in Whitehorse too! btw, Happy Bday to Simon (well, belated)! :)

Hi addy, wow, you probably love soup like I do, if you made a batch in sticky hot weather! Yay, I'm glad you enjoyed the Black Bean Soup!! And your daughter! You know, my older daughter loves that one too - and, I gave it to friends once and their son couldn't eat enough of it! How great that your husband could eat it without discomfort as well - bonus! Hmmm, I probably shouldn't have named it "chipotle" because it implies that the soup is very spicy, but it's not hot spicy, just flavorful. I haven't used that hot sauce. Thanks for the link. Is it very hot? The chipotle tabasco hot sauce is fairly mild in terms of a hot sauce, so I'm wondering how this compares. I doubt we'll have a heat wave... I think you'll be okay for your trip! :)

That's so cute Michelle!! I am laughing reading your entry - I can just imagine those little legs running and lovin' the sprinkler! Soooo adorable!

Hi dragonslayer! There are quite a few bloggers here from Ontario - neat! Yeah, I love chickpeas and they add not only great texture to the soup - but yes, a protein boost!

Hey Vicki, well someone else here is having cold and rainy weather at least! Gosh, we had about 8 or 9 days straight that were cool and wet. But, put it all in perspective, it could be much worse!! Anyhow... I saw your pic and post - thank you. :) They looked great - I LOVED your addition of pb chips - are these vegan? I haven't seen pb chips, but would love to find some! Oh, yeah, I was going to mention that my bundles are a little smaller in size than your yield, but as long as they are cooked through, that's what matters. More muffin-like when they are bigger I suspect - plus, you get more eating "just one"! ha ha!

Hi Jody, thanks for dropping in with that feedback. :) You know, when I read your entry, I almost totally forgot about that mushroom recipe. I haven't made it for years now - seriously! I used to LOVE it though, on the sweet potatoes, because of the spicy/sweet contrast that I totally dig! Now I'm thinking it's time to make them again!! Thanks for posting about them too, and I really am happy to hear you are enjoying some of my recipes. :)

Oh, Danielle, you even sound a little bummed in your comment! Poor you. :) Get yourself some chocolate, girl! Chocolate ICE-CREAM, yeah, that will help with the heat!! Or, check out Leslie's site, she is doing all "cool" treats over there for hot weather!!

Hi Jess - sounds like our climate last little while. Ideally I'd love warm days and then have the nights cool off - easier to sleep for sure! Hey, if you are wanting to make a soup along these lines, if you are keen on testing it I can send it to you - let me know. :)

Hi Catherine (glad you are back home and enjoying your own food again). I quickly read your post about the Country Buffet place yesterday - oh, we've all been there haven't we? Some crappy restaurant that has basically nothing to eat but a measly salad bar and blah pasta! Well, that's interesting that you know yams as orange tubers and sweet potatoes as the yellow sweet ones. I think you're the 1st person in the US that I've heard that from!! Sounds like you are making some progress with your book plans... that should be a useful seminar for you. (and you're welcome) :)

Hi Savanna... I hear you, soup is great comfort food! Definitely nourishes us more than just on a nutrition level when the weather is cool and damp and we feel a little blue!! I can eat soup much more than just when the weather is cool though. I think because for me I typically make soups chock full of legumes and/or whole grains, so soups are just the perfect solution for me to pack in nutrition in one meal. And, there are usually lots of leftovers to freeze for easy meals other nights!! :)

hi dreena, i think the pb chips are vegan...ooops, maybe not, they have reduced minerals whey, & dextrose?? i assume that is not. too bad, these are made by Reese's. wonder if there are some vegan pb chips out there??

Ok, Im kinda confused, I heard someone say that vinegar is not vegan, but I have seen things that were vegan but had vinegar in them. Does that mean that it is vegan, or just a certain kind of vinegar is not vegan??

Vicki, I have searched quite a bit for pb chips - haven't come up with anything yet. One of the vegan companies needs to put these on the market!!

Hi Harmonia... you are in good spirits anyhow! Glad you liked the sauce again - I love it on burritos too. :)

Dreamqueen, that temperature is insane!! Poor you, it must be stinking hot (and sticky). Ugh. Esp with the smog.

Savanna, I have never heard that about vinegar, but maybe someone here knows something more about it? Perhaps it has something to do with the processing of white vinegar much like the processing of white sugar?? Seems bizarre, there are oodles of vegan recipes out there using vinegars - maybe not white vinegar, but certainly apple cider, red wine, balsamic, rice vinegar, etc.

Oh, Leslie, I'd love a little time in the desert... though I'm sure I'd find this time of year overwhelming and then spend all my days inside in AC, and that's not much fun!! Thanks all the same. :)